They Broke The Will

In 1870, Rufus Knig'at, a farmer of Scio township, died and Ieft a flne farm oL 218 aoreB, jointly and equally to his widow, Lamira Knight, his daughter by a former wife, Harriet Knight, and to his dau?hter by hs living wite, Electa Koight. They were to pay $3,000 to his married daughter, Mary Phelps, and $3,000 to his son, David Knight, and were to suppDrt and edúcate a young grandsoa until he became 21 years of age, these Ie facies being made a lien on the farm. The two daughtera took iba managment of the farm, the widow living with them. They ran it so suceessfully, both standing their share of the labor and being as often found working in the field as in the house, that they soan 'paid off the legacies provided for in the will, besides making a good living for themselves and educating the gramlson. After this was done, the recepts and expense3 wera figured up annually and the proSts divided equally between the three. From the time of the falher's death until last spring, over $9,000 had been divided up in this manner, a much larger dividend than many farmars had been ab!e to declare ifl the same time. In 1875, the mother became pojsessed with the idea that she would in soms manner be dispossessed of her interest in the farm, and to satisfy her the farm was divided, ach taking a deed of one-third, but continuing to opérate it jointly. Last spring Mrs. Knight died and it wai suppósed that she had not made a will until a few days before her death. After the funeral Mra. Phelps produced a will, made in 1872, bequeathing her entire real and personal estáte to Mary Phelp?, cuttiDg off her other daughter, Electa Knight, without a ceut. Tbis will was evidently made during some coolness between the mother and maiden daughter, aad had been in Mrs. Phelpa' possession for over 15 years, unsealed and the contents unknown to her, so she declared. The will was offered fof probate and was admitted by Judge Babbiit on June 4, Electa Knight making a contest as =he was an equal heir at law with Mrs. Phelps. Failina; to get any portion of the estáte from the probate court, Electa filed a bilí in the circuit court asking that the will be set aside, on the grouml tha' Mrs. Knight was incompetent to make a will at that time, claiming that she was ajrnonomaniac on the subj et of fanaily aifiir3 then. Before the date set fjr the trial of the case, the two sisters agreed to arbítrate the matter, and an agreement was signed to this effect, a forfeit of $1,500 being imposed on the party that should refute to stand by their decisión. The arbitrators chosen were E. B. Pond of this city, Thomas Ninde of Ypsilanti, and C. S. ' Gregory of Dexter, but the aibitration failed, Mra. Pnelps not appearing. The appeal to the circuit court was men taken up again, the case being commeneed last Tuesday and lasting all the week. Nomore hotly-contested ca9e has been tried in years, and the court room was filled during the trial. Both sideg fought hard for a victorv, and a large nunaber of witnesses from Dexter and vicinity were placed on the stand. The arguments were made Friday evening and Saturday morning, the cae beins; giventothe jury at two oVl uk Saturday afternoon. As the jury did not return by midnight, court wa9 adjourned until Monday moming at niDe o'clock, Judge Kinne instructiüg the jury to send in a sealed verdict if a decisión was reached before. In the jury room a number of ballots were taken, standing nine against the will and three for it, until ten o'clock, Saturday moming when an agreement was made to render a ver-ict breaking the will. The jury was then discharged and the verdict plased in the custody of the clerk until court convened. The attorneys for the contestant were C. R. Whitman and B. M. Thompson, the lawyers defending the will being J. C. Knowlton and J. F. Lwrence. The verdict gave universal satisfaction smong those who heard the testimouy.